Modern industrial automation and control systems typically include a number of field devices installed throughout the system, including but not limited photo sensors, proximity switches, safety sensors, and the like. These field devices often comprise a housing containing the device's internal electronic components and an interface port or cable that interfaces the device to a power supply and/or to an outside system that exchanges data with the device, such as an industrial controller.
The overall shape of such field devices is typically fixed, and is partly a function of the dimensions of the housing and the location and orientation of the cable port, which also determines the direction and orientation of the cable relative to the device housing. Although these features of the field devices—device shape and cable orientation—are generally fixed, the physical parameters of the industrial environments in which these devices are installed can vary considerably between installation locations. Consequently, the shape of the device and/or the direction in which the cable enters the device may not be ideal for a particular installation location.
The above-described deficiencies of today's electronic field devices are merely intended to provide an overview of some of the problems of conventional systems, and are not intended to be exhaustive. Other problems with conventional systems and corresponding benefits of the various non-limiting embodiments described herein may become further apparent upon review of the following description.